Comments

1
The King of Comedy would have rounded things out.
2
How can they not include Raging Bull?
3
I choose to see this glass as half-full.
4
Also listed: The Deer Hunter.

This was the first De Niro film I remember seeing in theaters. Starred Christopher Walken, too. It was a fantastic movie put out just a few years after the Vietnam war ended. It should be required viewing for all congressmen before they send soldiers off to fight unnecessary wars.
5
@1 I was thinking the same thing. The King of Comedy is so bizarre it's awesome, and where else are you going to see DeNiro, Sandra Bernhard and Jerry Lewis in the same movie?
6
Once upon a Time in America with its magnificent photography, studied subtle observance of behavior, and some cool violence could be considered the best if not second best mob movie.
7
For true De Niro fans, the uncut version of "1900" in which the nice lady masturbates young De Niro and Depardieu simultaneously, if desultorily.

(This, who could blame Central Cinema for not including: that version is like five hundred hours long.)
8
WHA? No Analyze This?
9
WHA?! No Analyze This? What a crock.
10
Not to join the piling on, but whoever made that list forgot Casino.
11
You can debate some of the entries and exclusions (Brazil is a fantastic movie, but not really "epic DeNiro"), but I'm with @2: Raging Bull absolutely should be on that list.
12
Definitely agree they should have included "The King of Comedy" ...brilliant, incredibly entertaining & so prescient - and "Casino", which I think surpasses "Goodfellas".
13
"The King of Comedy" is showing in a newly restored version as the closing night film of the Tribeca Film Fest, which is maybe why it's not here? (Distributors can be fussy about such things.)

But Casino is a stinking pile of shit compared to Goodfellas. Anyone who disagrees with me should proceed directly to Casino's voice-overs, Sharon Stone's endless screeching in the second half of the film, and the opening shot of De Niro being turned into a mannequin the split-second before his car explodes. That shit's a mess. (And I love it! But it's not on the same planet as Goodfellas.)
14
David - I hear you - but i respectfully, and strongly, disagree. While Goodfellas is a classic of the mob genre, it is not my favorite. Even though i've seen it 20 times & still enjoy it, i personally prefer The Sopranos (yes i know it's not an even comparison); Donnie Brasco; Godfathers I & II; and yes Casino, which i love for its epic sweep & its full-on decadence & its dead-on retelling of the shocking story of the Chicago mob's ruthless if also forward-looking illicit rule in Vegas ...and this opinion is coming from someone who despises the plastic & ultimately-phony desert haven, even though i've been there a dozen times on my company's dime.

But otherwise, keep up the great writing! ;)
15
...and as for Sharon Stone, yes her acting, as the film progressed, veered increasingly towards over-the-top ...but it seemed to me completely authentic for someone as strung out as she was. I rate her performance as Oscar-worthy - and even believable - for sure.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.